Jeev, China Open and many golf memories...

Jeev Milkha Singh’s fortunes at the 25th edition of the Volvo China Open brought back a flood of memories about this champion.

It was the summer of 2006 when Jeev ended a seven-year drought by winning the then $1.8-million Volvo China Open by a single stroke over Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain. I was the only Indian journalist at the event.

Jeev had been winless since the 1999 Lexus International on Asian Tour. The event did not count towards the world rankings. Jeev had come in second seven times since then and he also had 23 Top-10s in the period. But a win remained elusive.

I had to fish out a report from my personal archives to recall what Jeev had told me after the win. He said, “I just can’t explain the feeling, it’s been a long seven years.”

He added: “I’ve let so many tournaments go in the last few years and went in today with reverse psychology, thinking that if I didn’t win, it didn’t matter.”

Jeev, starting the final day one behind the leader, David Lynn, began with a bogey but got that shot back with a birdie soon after, on third. He caught up with Lynn by the seventh and when the Englishman dropped a shot on the ninth, Jeev was the leader at the turn at 10-under. Lynn caught up again on the 10th, but his bogey on the 13th was costly.

The climb

I still remember it was the birdie on the 14th at the Honghua International Golf Club that set Jeev on the road to victory. He was now two clear of the field and was consistent with pars over the next three holes. On the 18th, the Spaniard, while trying to hit an errant drive, ended with a bogey handing Jeev a two-shot cushion with one hole to play.

“When I saw him (Fernandez-Castano) bogey the 18th, I decided to play it safe and not even go for the flag,” said Jeev, who still won by one at 10-under 278. Fernandez-Castano was second.

When he finally got time to reflect on the win, Jeev got emotional.

Who were the other Indians that day? Amandeep Johl finished T-20th, Harmeet Kahlon T-54th and Rahil Gangjee T-60, while Shiv Kapur and Gaurav Ghei did not make the cut. The next morning, all of us left for Shanghai for the next event, the Asian Open.

The ever-gracious Jeev got all the Indians together in Shanghai and invited them to a dinner at an Indian restaurant. He made sure I was there.

That Volvo China win also took him to the top of the Order of Merit, which he ended up winning. He had been 314th the week before and he rose to 194th and kept climbing then on.

Jeev won three times more that year — the Volvo Masters of in Valderrama and added two titles in successive weeks in Japan (Casio World Open and Golf Nippon JT Series).

Three wins in a six-week stretch and one third (Hong Kong Open) and 17that HSBC Champions saw Jeev rising to 39th in the world. As Christmas came around, the postman delivered the Masters invite to his home in Chandigarh.

When the last event of the 2006 season came around in Thailand, I was in Doha for the Asian Games, where India’s budding amateur stars, Anirban Lahiri, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Chiragh Kumar and Joseph Chakola (who now manufactures golf apparel), were winning a team silver.

In love with Masters

With his Order of Merit win assured, Jeev asked me if I could come to Bangkok to celebrate the win. I missed the closing ceremony in Doha and landed in Bangkok on the third day of the event.

It does not stop there. When the Masters invite came, Jeev again called me (and another journalist friend, Dubai-based Joy Chakravarty, who had also flown into Bangkok) to the Augusta National as it would be the first time an Indian would play at the Masters. Jeev ensured accommodation for us, along with his family, and it was the beginning of my love affair with the Masters, which I have not missed for a decade now.

Jeev has always been a great ambassador for Indian sport and golf. One would love to see him win yet again, and maybe in China this week, where at one stage he was three-under (actually the scoreboard showed four-under) but ended at one-under with a double on 18th at the Genzon Golf Club. There are three more days to go.

Come on, Jeev. Do it again!

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